BIOAg, the Biologically Intensive and Organic Agriculture Program, is a flagship CSANR program that drives a large portion of our core mission- to engage WSU faculty with research that facilitates solutions for the sustainability of Washington’s agriculture.
Did you know that CSANR supports the Washington Professional Development Program through Western SARE? The goal of our professional development program is to help WSU Extension, CDs, NRCS, and other agency personnel to gain knowledge and skills that will help them serve their constituents in these areas to promote the health of Washington’s people, land, […]
More soil tests and data are available to farmers than ever. While this can be empowering, it can also be confusing. New information on soil chemistry, biology, and physics can sometimes be difficult to translate into action. In this webinar series hosted by the Washington Soil Health Initiative, they highlight projects across Washington that are using soil data to inform real, on-farm management decisions.
WSU, the Northwest Horticultural Council, and the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, and Washington State Tree Fruit Association have partnered to develop a life cycle assessment (LCA) for apple production based on conditions experienced in the Pacific Northwest. To accurately understand production practices and generate data for this LCA, the research team is requesting that apple production professionals complete this survey regarding production practices and orchard infrastructure.
The Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative, hosted at the UW Climate Impacts Group, is excited to launch our first-ever Science Justice Summer School. This two-week program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will dive into a range of justice-related topics through lectures, discussion groups and more.
Interested in learning more about whether carbon markets could provide additional revenue for your farm? Join Washington State University and the University of Idaho for The “Green” Gold Rush: Opportunities and Risks of Carbon Markets for Washington Dairies, Digesters and Beyond.
In February 2024, SoilCon returns — with a different look — including a series of engaging events to advance soil health practices and knowledge. Over the past three years, SoilCon has been an incredible free resource for agricultural professionals to learn science-based soil health information, and this year promises to deliver even more valuable insights
Waste is not glamorous. Just look at the moldy pumpkin leftovers from Halloween and Thanksgiving (yes, there are still quite a few around my neighborhood!) and you know why so many of us prefer to not spend our time thinking about wastes. From an energy standpoint, however, waste contains a largely untapped reserve of resources that can be recycled into the products we utilize daily as consumers. When we recover these materials, we have fewer materials to deal with as waste – and also reduce our consumption of raw materials. So why is waste recovery not a typical component of our infrastructure?
CSANR is an entity not easily explained in one fell swoop, but the range and breadth of projects we’ve undertaken throughout 2023 really showcase our primary goal: to find inspired solutions for the future of agriculture and the environment. Take a minute to reflect with us on 2023 and look forward to the developing projects and partnerships of 2024.
Does synthetic nitrogen fertilizer burn up soil organic matter? Whether you are focused on soil health, soil sequestration, or soil carbon credits, this is an important question. The persistent claim is that synthetic N fertilizer can “burn” soil carbon by supercharging the soil microbes. This claim mainly arises from a 2007 research article from researchers at the University of Illinois (Khan et al., 2007; open access here) and has recently resurfaced in another article (Jesmin et al., 2021) and the resulting (flawed) media coverage. However, a single study is far from conclusive – so what does the broader scientific literature say? And what have we learned in the last few decades on the relationship between synthetic N and soil organic matter?
